


Fractured

by GummiStories



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Blood, Broken Bones, Car Accidents, Family Feels, M/M, Mundane Alec Lightwood, Mundane Magnus Bane, Mundane Magnus Bane/Mundane Alec Lightwood, Near Death Experiences, Panic Attacks, Paramedic Alec Lightwood, Protective Alec Lightwood, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2019-10-16 10:44:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17548190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GummiStories/pseuds/GummiStories
Summary: When your loved one's life is on knife's edge, what would you do?OrAlec is a paramedic called out to a serious car wreckage, the victims are not who he expected or wanted





	1. Chapter One

Car accidents weren’t an uncommon occurrence in Alec’s job, being a paramedic he saw all types of accidents from burns to accidental amputations, this job wouldn’t be any different than the others.

“This accident is bad, apparently there have been two casualties on impact and four others severely injured” Alec’s work partner Underhill explained as they drew closer to the accident.

“Shit, how old?” Alec exclaimed with a grimace, death was part of the job and Alec knew that but it didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Apparently the deceased where an elderly couple, one of the injured is a man in this thirties and the other three haven’t been identified yet, they are still trapped in their car” Underhill relayed the information he had received before they set out to the scene. 

Alec didn’t get to see the scene much as they had to back the ambulance up to the wreck so the doors where more accessible, but from the amount of police cars, police tape, fire truck and other ambulances he could tell this was going to be a bad one.

“I’ll grab the gear and you go talk to Luke” Underhill instructed as he turned off the vehicle, Alec gave his partner a silent nod before getting out of the car. Luke was a friend of Alec’s and also a high ranking officer in the New York police force, there was no doubt that he would have been called to this scene, plus Alec could see his car. As Alec turned to walk over to Luke’s car, his eyes settled on the scene of the wreck, it was an utter mess.

From what he could see, it looks like one car had skidded into another causing it to flip which pushed another car into the railings, from Alec’s guess that was the car the elderly couple was in. Just as he was about to continue walking onwards, dread overcame his whole body when he examined the upside-down car that had its roof caved in, it was awfully familiar and a colour he was used to seeing in the driveway… that was Magnus’ car.

Alec stumbled as all the breath left his lungs and the world began spinning, this couldn’t be happening, this wasn’t ever supposed to happen. Black began to slightly creep up in the corner of his eyes as he struggled to breathe, clutching his chest in distraught. It sounded like someone was calling his name but everything sounded as if it was underwater, muffled and murmured as it fell on his deaf ears.

“Ale… are you…” A familiar voice said as he felt two hands rest on his shoulders, looking up from the ground Alec could make out the blurry figure of Luke, the officer slowly guided him to sit down with his back against the ambulance.

“Alec you need to breathe for me, come on buddy I’m not going to let you pass out on me” Luke exclaimed grabbing Alec’s hands so he had something to ground himself to. Alec nodded before taking in the deepest breath he could, holding it shakily before breathing out. It took a couple of breaths until Alec was finally able to stop shaking and the tightness in his chest to fade.

“You with me?” Luke questioned the paramedic

“L-Luke… that’s, that’s Ma-”

“I know, we’re doing all we can to get them out” Luke replied which only filled Alec with more sinking fear

“Them?” Alec’s tone almost begged Luke not to tell him what he didn’t want to hear, Luke sighed before patting the younger’s arm.

“Magnus isn’t alone, the boys are in the car” Alec felt like screaming the moment those words left Luke’s mouth.

“Why… why did this have to happen to them?” Alec asked weakly

“I don’t know kid, but now you need to be strong and do your job for the sake of your husband and your boys, alright?” Luke said firmly, Alec nodded before sucking in a breath, allowing Luke to haul him up onto his feet.

“I got the equipment, now we just have to wait for the firefighters to get those people out” Underhill said as he walked over with the medical bag over his shoulder, he instantly noticed how pale his partner looked as Luke stood next to him with a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“Is everything alright Alec?” Underhill asked with a frown, it seemed as if Alec went to respond but nothing came out of his mouth.

“His husband and children are in the upturned car” Luke explained for Alec which caused Underhill to stiffen.

“Holy shit… Alec, I’m so sorry” He said quickly, not knowing how else to comfort his colleague

“Everything is going to be fine” Alec snapped, not noticing how annoyed his voice sounded before he turned and began to walk over to where he was needed, waiting for the firefighters to finish lifting the car. Underhill looked to Luke sadly and the cop returned the sad look knowing how Alec got when he was upset.

Alec was off to the side with his bag draped over his shoulder, arms folded across his chest as he tapped his foot in impatience, the firemen were taking way too long to get his family out of the car. Every second that passed felt like a thousand years to the paramedic, he knew the firemen had to be careful with moving the car and extracting his family as one wrong move and his husband or children could go from injured to dead.

“We got one!” Alec’s heart stuttered and broke at the same time as he saw one of the firemen pull Max out of the wreckage. His seven-year-old son was covered in scrapes, blood, bruises and his right arm didn’t look good. Without even hesitating, Alec rushed over to his boy’s side and began to examine him.

“Right arm looks broken, breathing sounds okay but unconscious” Underhill listed off as he looked over the child, Alec delicately lifted Max’s head and strapped a neck brace on him, since he most likely would have been hanging upside down Alec didn’t know if his spine was okay, it was a precaution they had to take.

“We can get him hooked up to oxygen and get that ambulance to take him to the hospital,” Alec said as he also placed an oxygen mask over Max’s mouth and nose. Underhill nodded in agreement as the two slowly got Max onto the spinal board before placing him on the stretcher, two other paramedics came over and took the stretcher from Alec and Underhill, taking it towards the other ambulance.

All of Alec’s fatherly instincts were screaming at him to follow the stretcher into the back of the ambulance, to make sure his son was going to be okay on his way to the hospital, but he knew that he needed to stay here and do his job, Magnus and Rafael where still in the car.

“Second kid coming out now” Alec’s attention was turned back to the car as the firemen pulled Rafael out, his ten-year-old was in a similar state to his brother and was also unconscious, but instead of having a crooked arm Rafael had a crooked leg and a large gash on his forehead.

“This is going to need stitches,” Alec said as he repeated the same process on Rafael that he had done on Max. Seeing his child like this felt like someone had torn Alec’s heart out, stepped on it and shred it to pieces. Guilt was laying heavy on him as he helped Underhill place Rafael on the spinal board, he had promised Rafe that he would protect him from anything and everything that tried to hurt him, but now he was on his way to the hospital with his life balancing on knife’s edge.

“Shit… is this one alive?” Alec’s blood ran cold as he heard those words, quickly turning on his heel Alec saw Magnus being pulled out of the wreckage and he couldn’t help it when his knees went weak and sunk down to the ground.

“Easy Alec, it’s alright” Underhill was quickly by his side, placing a comforting hand on Alec’s back as his partner watched his husband with wide mortified eyes. If Alec thought the boys were bad, Magnus was on a whole nother level, there wasn't a single part of Magnus that didn't look injured, his legs were both clearly broken and his nose and mouth were covered in blood most likely from hitting the window. 

Alec got up on shaky legs and made his way over to where the firemen had laid Magnus on the ground, Underhill followed silently. 

“H-He needs emergency surgery, I doubt all his injuries are external,” Alec said weakly as he gently began placing a neck brace on his husband. He was so scared that if he messed up he would break his husband who was in the most fragile state Alec had ever seen. 

“We'll take him in our one, help me lift him” Underhill instructed, Alec silently helped his partner lift Magnus onto a spinal board before wheeling him into the ambulance.

“You stay in the back with him, I’ll drive” Underhill patted Alec’s shoulder with a sympathetic smile. Alec nodded slightly and climbed into the back of the ambulance, shutting the door behind him and sitting down next to the stretcher Magnus was laid on.

“Magnus… please just… hold on for me, please” Alec whimpered not daring to touch his husband, this was going to be a long and unsteady ride for the whole family


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, the angst only gets worse from here
> 
> Please be aware that I'm not a doctor and I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to pain meds and stuff <3

Alec bounced his knee impatiently whilst he wrung his hands out due to nerves. He had been waiting at least five hours for news on how his family was doing and he was yet to hear anything, making him more and more anxious as the minutes ticked by. All of the worst possibilities swirled in his mind as the time passed, what if one of them hadn’t of made it? What if they woke up and didn’t remember who he was? What if-

“Alec” Alec’s head shot up at the sound of his name, Catarina was standing at the base of the hallway looking exhausted and worried, Alec quickly stood up and rushed over to his friend.

“What happened? Are they okay? Dear god, please tell me they’re okay!” Alec panicked, thankfully his boss had let him clock off early due to this family emergency, he had been at the hospital ever since and was still in his paramedic uniform.

“Alec, Alec calm down,” Catarina said quickly as she grabbed his hands, she could feel them shaking in her own.

“Everyone is alright, all of their injuries were very extensive but the boys are in the clear” Catarina informed him

“Magnus…?” Alec asked in a small voice, Catarina sighed with a frown

“He lived through surgery but the next 24 hours will be crucial for him, he’s not out of the woods yet” Cat explained which made Alec pull in a shaky breath

“Okay… okay… but it’s possible he’ll live?” Alec was almost begging at this point to hear some good news regarding his husband

“You and I both know Magnus, he won’t go down without a fight and I doubt this will be any different” Cat nodded giving Alec’s hands a squeeze, he nodded and allowed himself to relax slightly. Cat was right, he knew his husband and there was no way he would give up easily.

“Max is awake, he wants to see you,” Catarina said with a small smile, Alec nodded and silently allowed Catarina to lead him down the hallways of the hospital towards the children’s ward.

“How bad where their injuries?” Alec asked

“Max’s right arm and collarbone are broken and he has a concussion, aside from that it’s just scrapes and bruises that’ll heal easily. Rafael has a broken leg and a few bruised ribs and the same bruises and scrapes” Cat explained as they walked into the small children’s ward.

“Daddy?” Max’s little voice met Alec’s ears and he quickly looked over to his youngest son. The seven-year-old was looking up at his father from his bed, his large watery eyes looking up at his parent in confusion.

“Hey baby, how are you feeling?” Alec said softly as he walked over to Max’s side, sitting down on the chair next to the bed.

“Hurts… where are we daddy?” Max asked looking around the small colourful room

“We’re in the hospital buddy, there was an accident in the car and you got hurt” Alec explained

“Oh… where are Raffie and Papa?” Max frowned, Alec gave him a small smile and gently placed his hand on Max’s forehead, smoothing back his dark hair.

“Raffie and Papa got hurt a little bit as well, but they’ll be okay they just need to rest a little more” Alec continued not really wanting to tell his child exactly how bad the situation was, he was only seven years old, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Are you okay daddy?” Max questioned which made Alec smile, even when Max was the one in pain he was always looking out for others just like Magnus.

“I’m fine buddy don’t you worry your little head about me” Alec hushed his son, noticing his eyes were beginning to droop again

“Go back to sleep blueberry, you need to rest” He continued, gently scratching at Max’s scalp and kissing his forehead hoping that it would help him fall asleep faster.

“Will you be here when I wake up?” Max’s little voice murmured as he shut his eyes, not able to fight sleep for much longer.

“Of course, always” Alec closed his eyes and placed his forehead against his son’s, relief flowing through him knowing that his son was going to be okay, he was going to recover from this. Alec only pulled away when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning around to see Cat looking down at him with a small sad smile.

"Rafael has woken up and he isn't doing too well, since we can't give him any morphine he is in a lot of pain, he's crying and won't calm down" Cat explained sadly, Alec's heart broke at the thought of Rafael waking up in an unfamiliar place all alone and in an unimaginable amount of pain. 

Without needing a prompt, Alec got up and began to follow Cat to the room Rafael was in; the last time Rafael had come to the hospital was for a stomach complication, he was in immense pain and was given morphine for said pain, unbeknown to Alec and Magnus that their son had an allergy to morphine. From that point on they agreed if Rafael ever needed to come back to the hospital he'd just have to go without the pain medication.

"Please tell me no one has tried touching him whilst he's upset," Alec asked as the grew closer to Rafael's room.

"I know my nephew Alec, I told the nurse who called me not to let anyone in" Cat replied slightly easing Alec's mind. Just as Alec's anxieties were lowering regarding his son, terrified cries met his ears, very familiar cries, the type of cries that he had heard on nights that Rafael had bad nightmares.

"Oh, Raffie..." Alec mumbled as they stopped in front of his room, Cat quickly opening the door to allow Alec to go see his child. Rafael was sat up in the white hospital bed, big fat tears running down his flushed cheeks as he sobbed loudly in distress.

"Raffie, Raffie it's alright," Alec said calmly, hoping to get his son's attention. Rafael's head whipped around to look over to the source of the voice, relaxing slightly when he saw his father standing in the doorway.

"Dad..." Rafael whimpered, holding his arms out in a silent request for a hug, Alec quickly walked forwards and ever so gently held Rafael knowing that he had bruised ribs. The small boy grabbed onto Alec's uniform and continued to cry but this time sounding a little less distressed, just in pain.

"It hurts Dad, it really hurts" Rafael sniffled into Alec's chest. Alec placed his hand on the back of Rafael's head whilst the other rested around his shoulders.

"I know it does, but everything is going to be okay, I've gotcha" Alec said rubbing his back softly, allowing him to cry knowing that he needed it.

Father and son sat there for a while, both of them leaning on each other for emotional support and comfort, slowly but surely Rafael began to calm down.

"What happened, Dad?" Rafael asked as he rests his head against Alec's shoulder, sniffling and rubbing his eyes.

"You, Maxie and Papa got into a car accident" Alec replied gently not wanting to make Rafael anymore upset than he already was

"Is Max and Papa okay?!" Rafael's panicked eyes quickly met his father's

"Max is completely fine, Papa is resting at the moment" Alec lied knowing if he told Rafael that Magnus wasn't doing good it would make his son upset once again, only making his pain worse than it already is.

"Okay; we were coming to visit you because Papa said you seemed like you were in a bad mood this morning and it might have cheered you up to see us on your break" It felt like a cold wave of water hit Alec square in the face, another type of guilt settling on his shoulders as his brain processed what Rafael had said. His family had been coming to see him... if he had of seemed a bit happier this morning none of this would have happened... his family would be home, safe and uninjured, his husband wouldn't be walking a tightrope of life and death.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" Rafael asked gently noticing his father going slightly pale and quiet.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm okay" Alec mumbled, blinking back the stinging that started to rise in the back of his eyes. Rafael wasn't convinced but decided to drop it as he knew that pushing the issue that was clearly making his father upset would only make it worse.

"Daddy maybe you should go and see Papa" Rafael suggested, knowing that his father always seemed to perk up around Papa.

"But what about you? Are you still in pain?" Alec asked, there was some little part of Alec that didn't want to see his husband, as if seeing him lying in the hospital bed would make everything that more real. 

"I'll be okay, the pain isn't as bad now because I'm calm, go see Papa" Rafael nodded hugging his father once more before shoving him slightly so he would go see Papa.

"Alright, alright I'm going, if you need me just get aunty Cat to come and get me okay?" Alec smiled slightly, kissing Rafael's forehead as he got up from the bed

"I will, go and see Papa" Rafael urged his father.

Alec gave Rafael one more smile before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him to see Cat still standing outside waiting for him with a concerned look on her face.

"How is he doing?" Cat asked

"He's alright, he's stopped crying and he says it made him feel a little better, he told me he's going back to sleep" Alec answered allowing Cat to breathe a sigh of relief

"He... he also told me that the reason they were driving was that they were coming to see me on my break" Alec continued quietly, those blasted tears beginning to gather in his eyes once again.

"Oh, Alec" Cat mumbled quickly gathering her brother in law into her arms, knowing how Alec always blamed himself for everything even if it wasn't his fault.

"If I just had of pretended I was okay this morning none of this would have happened!" Alec collapsed into Cat's embrace and began to cry desperately.

"You know that isn't true, I see accidents like this happen every day and it's just unfortunate that it happened to your family, it is no one's fault and I won't let you blame yourself, Magnus would have my head" Cat stated firmly, rubbing Alec's back comfortingly. Alec continued to cry and Cat allowed him, it was rare that Alec ever cried and when he did he obviously really needed to.

"I don't want to see him Cat... it'll make this far too real" Alec whimpered into Cat's shoulder

"I know honey, I know. I won't force you to see him but I know you and you'll be mad at yourself later if you don't go and see him" Cat responded. Alec sniffled and sighed, knowing that Cat was completely right.

"Okay... okay, can you take me to him?" Alec pulled away and wiped his eyes. Cat nodded and turned, heading towards ICU where Magnus was residing.

"I have to warn you, Alec, what you see might shock you so don't feel bad if you need to leave" Cat reiterated as they stopped outside yet another door. Alec nodded firmly and watched as Cat opened the door and stepped inside, sucking in a deep breath Alec followed her through the door into his husband's room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this please follow my tumblr!  
> https://gummi-stories.tumblr.com/
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day <3


	3. Chapter Three

“Ma...Magnus?” Alec stuttered as his eyes settled on his husband, it was worse then Alec could have ever imagined. Magnus looked so pale and fragile laying on the hospital bed, covered in blotchy bruises and angry scrapes. An oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose and the neck brace Alec had put on him still sat in its place.

Before Alec even knew he was stumbling, Cat gently grabbed his arms and sat him down in one of the uncomfortable plastic hospital chairs. The weight that previously resided on his shoulders had now shifted to an even greater weight on his chest, more specifically his heart.

“Is he… is he in pain?” Alec asked quietly, swallowing around the lump in his throat

“We’ve got him on some strong painkillers and a medically induced coma for the moment, to the best of my knowledge he isn’t feeling anything” Cat responded quietly, Alec nodded without taking his eyes off of Magnus.

“We’ve gotten some really good signs, Alec. His breathing is slightly weak but he is breathing on his own, we’re only providing him with extra oxygen.” Cat continued with a small smile but was not surprised when Alec continued staring at his husband, his pale complexion seeming even paler than normal.

“I’ve been gone from my duties a bit too long, I’ll be back in a little bit alright?” Cat said as she stood up, not without putting a supportive hand on Alec’s back.

“Okay…” Alec mumbled. Cat sighed and left the room leaving Alec alone with his husband. With only the steady sound of the heart monitor and ventilator filling the silence. Alec slowly got up from his seat at the end of the bed to head to another seat right next to Magnus’ side.

“Hi love, I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you sooner,” Alec said, his voice cracking slightly as his emotions seeped through. As gently as Alec could manage he took one of Magnus’ hands into his own, his breath hitching slightly at the feeling of that familiar touch once again only this time the hand was colder than normal. Alec stared longingly at Magnus before he began to feel tears escaping his eyes, he sniffled and choked back a sob.

“God I am so, so sorry Magnus if I had of been a little happier this morning none of this would have happened… this is all my fault, I put you and the boys in danger” Alec hiccuped as he placed his forehead against Magnus’ hand.

“I promised to protect you all but I failed, I fucking failed and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself” He continued, his head becoming a swirling vortex of dark thoughts more and more with each passing second.

“There is a part of me that hopes you can’t hear me because I want you to rest and recover peacefully, but there is another part of me that wishes you could hear me and you can hear how sorry I am” He sniffled lifting his head away from Magnus’ hand, wiping at his sore eyes.

“I doubt you’d want to listen to me cry whilst you’re trying to rest, I just wish I could see your eyes, your eyes always tend to make me feel better.” Alec gave a small watery laugh as he wiped his nose on his sleeve, not really caring how gross it may have sounded or seemed.

“The boys are okay, Rafael is in a bit of pain since he can’t have morphine and of course Max is worried about everyone but himself, sometimes he takes after you far too much” Alec smiled thinking of his children. The two bundles of joy he adopted into his life after Magnus and he had been married for 5 years.

Max had come first and Alec remembers the day they got the phone call as if it was yesterday.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

The sound of shattering glass made Alec jump in his seat on the couch, it was a rare day off for both himself and Magnus and he was planning to make the most of it by relaxing at every moment he got, but his peace was ruined the moment that loud sound came from the kitchen.

“Magnus?!” Alec shouted as he dropped his book and bolted to the kitchen, worried that something had happened to his husband whilst he was getting himself a drink. Upon running in Alec saw Magnus standing on the other side of the island counter with his phone to his ear, hand over his mouth and what looked to be tears in his eyes.

“Magnus? Are you alright?” Alec asked quietly

“O-Of course! We’ll be there right away!” Magnus exclaimed as he hung up the phone, turning to face Alec with a shocked expression.

“Is everything okay? You look like you’re on the verge of tears” Alec pushed, still not understanding what was going on. Without warning Magnus ran around the island counter and lunged at Alec, wrapping his arms around his husband’s middle.

“That was Cat, there’s… there’s a baby that was abandoned.” Alec’s eyes widened as he realized what Magnus was saying

“And she…”

“She thinks he’d be perfect for us.” Magnus looked up with a wide smile which Alec was only too happy to return. With joy Alec hugged Magnus back as tight as he could, his heart bursting with happiness at the thought of finally adopting a child with Magnus, after months and months of waiting.

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

“Holy fuck this is actually happening” Alec mumbled as his knee bounced up and down due to nerves. Himself and Magnus were waiting in the waiting room of the hospital as Catarina cleaned up the baby and prepared him to meet his new fathers.

“I can’t believe it either” Magnus replied, he hadn’t stopped grinning since they had left the loft.

“Are we ready for this? Magnus what if he doesn’t like me!” Alec suddenly realized, this was huge, adopting a child wasn’t a day, month or even year commitment, this child would be with him for the rest of his life.

“Alexander dear, of course we’re ready! We’ve had the nursery set up for months plus we have everything we need!” Magnus replied, the smile falling from his face when he noticed how scared Alec looked as he stared at his feet.

“Hey,” Magnus said gently, placing a hand under Alec’s chin and turning his head so he’d look at him. Magnus gave his husband a small gentle smile before kissing at the frown that was settled on his forehead.

“Everything is going to be fine, we’ve been wanting this for so long and I know you’ll be a great father, we both will be.” The corners of Alec’s mouth quirked up a little and Magnus gave his hand a squeeze

“Hey you two.” Alec and Magnus’ attention turned to the familiar sound of their friend Catarina Loss’ voice.

“Hey yourself,” Magnus replied standing up to give Cat a hug, Alec following suite

“How is he?” Alec asked, his nerves were quickly turning into excitement.

“He’s doing well, 5 pounds 9 ounces and looks and sounds completely healthy, would you like to come and meet him?” Cat asked, getting two nods in response. The small party walked out of the waiting room down to the maternity ward towards the small separate room that Cat had booked so the two new fathers could get a private meeting with their new son. They stopped outside the door and Cat turned towards the pair.

“You ready?” She questioned

“Please let us in or I think Alexander may explode from nerves” Magnus teased tugging a little at Alec’s hand. Cat smiled and opened the door allowing Magnus and Alec to look into the small room, there was another nurse in there doting around a cradle which most likely held the baby, when the door opened the nurse looked up and smiled when she saw Catarina.

“Are these his adoptive parents?” The nurse asked

“I sure hope so, I doubt they’ll be leaving here without him as they’re both suckers for kids” Cat replied, neither male responded as they knew what she was saying was true. Alec squeezed Magnus’ hand tighter as they both approached the cradle and he felt his heart melt the moment his eyes set on the baby.

“Oh, Alexander… he’s beautiful” Magnus said softly, his other hand wrapping gently around Alec’s bicep as his head rested against his shoulder.

“He's adorable, how long ago was he born?” Alec replied with a smile before looking back over to Cat

“Only two hours ago, he’s brand new; would you like to hold him?” Cat asked, receiving an enthusiastic nod from Alec. As Cat lifted up the baby Alec made his way over to one of the chairs, Magnus trailing beside him, gently as she could Cat placed the baby into Alec’s awaiting arms.

“He’s so soft…” Alec’s eyes widened as the baby rested in his arms, continuing to sleep peacefully as his two new parents admired him.

“What happened to his birth mother?” Magnus questioned as he ran a finger over the baby’s chubby rosy cheek.

“She left an hour after he was born, didn’t even want to look at him when he was born” Cat answered sadly, she had seen many children abandoned by their birth parents in her job but it never got any easier.

“Oh the poor little thing, how could you not love a face like that?” Magnus exclaimed as he twirled some of the baby’s soft dark hair between his fingers.

“So, what do you say? Do you want to be his parents?” Cat continued hopefully. Magnus and Alec gave each other a knowing look before smiling widely.

“Of course”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I’m sorry for the late updates, I’ve just started year 12! 
> 
> (yes I know, a 19-year old doing year 12 wtf)


	4. Chapter Four

“Have you eaten today, Alec?” Izzy asked as she placed a hand on her brothers back, watching as he stared longingly at his husband, she only received a gruff noise in response causing her to sigh.

“Magnus would want you to take care of yourself.” She tried to convince him but to no avail, Alec continued looking at Magnus as he gently held his hand, rubbing his thumb over the skin constantly.

“Izzy, I know you’re trying to help but… I need to be here with him” Alec’s gravelly voice replied, he had been in Magnus’ hospital room for the past four days barely leaving his husband’s side in fear something would go wrong or Magnus would take a turn for the worse. Max and Rafael had been discharged and were currently staying with their grandmother whilst Alec stayed with Magnus.

“But you haven’t slept in four days! I don’t know how you haven’t passed out yet. Alec please, at least just have a rest for an hour or so.” Izzy stated, strongly grabbing her brother by the shoulders so he had to face her. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, clearly showing how exhausted he was.

“But what if-”

“I’ll stay right here and watch him okay? If anything changes I’ll wake you straight away.” Izzy begged, giving Alec her best puppy eyes. Alec sighed and reluctantly let go of Magnus’ hand to walk over to the small couch in the corner of the room, Izzy following closely behind with a blanket in her hands.

“Just a few hours” Alec mumbled as he laid down, already feeling his body almost melting as he finally gave in to the sleep his body had been screaming for.

“Of course big brother, just rest,” Izzy said as she draped the blanket over Alec. The paramedic reluctantly gave into the darkness that quickly surrounded him, knowing the quicker he rested the quicker he could get back to Magnus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How did this happen so fast?” Alec was slowly pulled back into consciousness by the sound of his sister’s voice

“It’s not uncommon for something like this to happen, my guess is that his body was too busy healing everything else that it became vulnerable to things like this.” Another voice, Catarina, spoke.

“What can we do?” Izzy continued  
“Watch his temperature and make sure it doesn’t get much higher.” Alec frowned at that statement and opened his eyes looking over to see Izzy and Cat standing next to Magnus’ hospital bed.

“What’s going on?” Alec questioned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and stretched making both of the women look over at him.

“Alec don’t be alarmed but Magnus has a fever.” Cat explained making Alec’s stomach drop.

“What the hell Izzy?! You told me you’d wake me if anything changed!” Alec shouted as he shot up from his place on the couch

“This happened in the past half an hour, I only just noticed that something was wrong and I called Catarina,” Izzy replied calmly. Alec quickly hurried back over to Magnus’ bedside to look over his not only injured but now sick husband.

“Oh, Magnus…” He said in a small voice, Magnus looked the image of the word ‘fever’. His skin was pale and covered in a sheen of sweat, his heartbeat was more frequent and his breaths were coming in small laboured pants, fogging up his oxygen mask, not only that but his brow was furrowed and his eyes clenched tightly shut in unconscious discomfort.

“What can I do to help?” Alec asked turning to Cat.

“I’ve given him some more meds which should hopefully help fight the fever off, I need you to help keep his temperature down.” Cat explained as she grabbed a medium bowl of water and a face cloth off the side table.

“Okay… okay, I can do that” Alec nodded taking the items from the nurse.

“Don’t worry Alec, he’s out of the crucial healing stage, this is just a mild bump in the road of his recovery” Cat said with a gentle smile, allowing Alec to sigh a breath of relief.

“I’m going to go to mum’s and check on the boys, will you be okay here alone?” Izzy questioned as Cat walked out of the room to go tend to her other patients.

“Yeah we’ll be fine, I’ll call you if I need anything” Alec smiled as he sat down in his chair next to the bed once more. Izzy nodded and kissed his cheek, mumbling a quiet goodbye before leaving the couple alone once again.

“Only you would get a fever whilst you’re recovering from something else Magnus.” Alec gave a half smile as he rung the cloth out of excess water before placing it on Magnus’ head, patting gently at the heated skin there. 

“Last time I did this was when Rafael had a fever, remember? You were on a business trip with Izzy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Come on Raffie, I already let you sleep in for an extra half an hour you gotta get up for school,” Alec said as he knocked on the door whilst opening it, he had been attempting to get Rafael up for school for the last half hour but his oldest still hadn’t budged.

“Rafael Lightwood-Bane, just because Papa isn’t here doesn’t mean you get to stay home from school,” Alec said a little louder, placing his hands on his hips as he started to get slightly annoyed at his son’s misbehaviour. Just as he was about to scold his son for still not listening to him, a weak groan came from underneath the bundle of blankets.

“Raffie? Are you okay?” All of Alec’s annoyance melted away as he sat down on the bed, peeling back the blanket to see Rafael curled up in a ball with a distressed look on his face

“Baby what’s going on?” Alec’s concern was growing more and more by the second

“Don’t feel well Daddy” Rafael whimpered, his bloodshot and glassy eyes met Alec’s. Alec placed the back of his hand against Rafael’s forehead only to be met with boiling hot skin.

“Shit…” Alec mumbled under his breath, Rafael clearly had a fever and Alec had no idea what to do. You’d think with all the medical training he had received whilst studying to become a paramedic he would have picked up something on fevers in children, not just how to set broken bones or how to stop someone from bleeding to death.

“Okay um… do you feel like you’re going to be sick?” Alec questioned, a little relief flooding through him when Rafael shook his head

“You just stay here, I’ll be right back,” Alec mumbled, quickly running out of the room to the kitchen to where his phone was. Clumsily Alec grabbed the phone and dialled Magnus’ number, hoping to god he wouldn’t be asleep.

“Good morning Alexander, I was just about to call you” Magnus’ voice came like silk through the phone, but it did little to comfort Alec.

“Magnus I think Rafael is sick, he hasn’t gotten out of bed and he’s curled up in a ball and his skin feels really hot and-

“Whoa, whoa, whoa calm down love, take a breath” Magnus cut Alec’s rambling off gently, already confused to what was going on. Alec listened to his husband and sucked in a deep breath, allowing himself a second to calm down.

“Now tell me, what is going on with Rafael?” Magnus asked.

“He slept in past when I told him to get up for school and when I went to almost drag him out of bed I felt that he has a really high temperature and he says he doesn’t feel well,” Alec explained 

“Oh my poor baby, is he sweating?” Magnus continued

“Yeah and he’s really pale too,” Alec said as he began to walk back into Rafael’s room with the phone still against his ear.

“Alright here’s what we’ll do, I’ll give Cat a call and ask if she can come around and give him a look over, if not her then someone she works with, and you can focus on getting his temperature down a little bit” Magnus related

“How should I do that?” Alec asked as he placed a comforting hand on Rafael’s back

“Get a bowl of water and a face cloth, just dab it at his forehead, it’ll help bring the temperature down,” Magnus instructed 

“Anything else?” Alec questioned mentally listing what he needed to grab.

“That should be all for the moment; just remember to take deep breaths okay? You’ll do just fine.” Magnus encouraged his husband making Alec smile slightly.

“Thanks, love, I’ll call you again soon, I love you” Alec smiled

“I love you too my darling, take care of our son” Magnus relayed back before hanging up

“How are you feeling buddy?” Alec asked putting the phone down on Rafael’s bedside table

“So hot…” he whimpered attempting to kick off his blankets, Alec aided him and gently pulled them off his son.

“I’m going to help you cool down okay, just stay in bed and I’ll be back in a minute,” Alec said quickly jogging to the bathroom to gather the items he needed to help Rafael.

“I don’t like this Daddy, make it stop” Rafael cried quietly as Alec put down the bowl of water.

“I know buddy, I can’t make it go away completely but I’ll try as much as I can” Alec hushed his son as he brought the wet face cloth to Rafael’s forehead.

“Do I still need to get up for school?” Rafael asked making Alec laugh slightly.  
“No love, you’re not well enough, you need to relax and get better okay?” Alec replied wiping at Rafael’s face.

“Okay… I’m sorry Daddy.” Rafael sighed as he closed his eyes, allowing his father to care for him.

“Don’t you dare apologize Raffie, this isn’t your fault okay? It happens to everyone.” Alec said firmly

“Even you and Papa?” Rafael questioned.

“Yep, even me and Papa”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I still remember how much he clung to me for the rest of the week, he was so unwell,” Alec said with a small sad smile.

“Oh the cloth is dry, let me just soak it a little more” Alec mumbled mostly to himself as he pulled the cloth off of Magnus’ face reaching over to the bowl. Just as Alec dipped the cloth into the water, a low and weak groan met his ears making him freeze. Dropping the cloth Alec whipped around to face his husband, seeing Magnus was sluggishly attempting to move his head as he scrunched his face up.

“Magnus?” Alec asked softly, too scared to do anything, Magnus whimpered and squirmed on the bed in response.

“Can you hear me, baby?” Alec continued, watching as Magnus shifted around in his bed. From what Alec could see, it almost seemed like Magnus was trying, no, fighting to wake himself up.

“Hey take it easy, you’re still injured,” Alec said a little firmer. Magnus continued to huff out small frustrated breaths and whines, each sound making Alec’s heart crack a little more. After what seemed like a lifetime, Magnus’ eyes slightly cracked open making Alec hold his breath as he watched on cautiously.

“A...Alexander?” Relief crashed over Alec like a tidal wave, four days of waiting and Magnus was finally back to him.

“Hi baby! H-How are you feeling?” Alec smiled widely, placing his hands on Magnus’ arm.

“I’m so sore… what happened?” Magnus frowned, his eyes flicking all over the room and Alec in confusion.

“I ah… there was, there was an accident, your car flipped.” Alec explained which made Magnus’ eyes widen

“Are the boys okay?!” Magnus exclaimed, wincing as pain sparked sharply up his back.

“The boys are fine, they are staying at mum’s house whilst I’ve been here with you” Alec quickly soothed Magnus, allowing his husband to relax. The two sat in silence for a little while as Magnus processed everything that had he had just been told.

“Magnus I was so scared I would lose you, you’ve been out for four days, they had to put you in a medically induced coma,” Alec said softly, averting his eyes in hopes to hide the tears building up in them.

“Alexander I’m so sorry th-

“No don’t apologize, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for me” Alec sighed making Magnus frown.

“How on earth is this your fault?” Magnus questioned

“The boys said you were going to come and visit me on my break because I seemed upset that morning if I just had of put on a happier attitude you wouldn’t be here,” Alec growled at himself.

“Hey, you stop that! We were coming to see you despite your bad mood, even if you had of woken up as happy as ever, we had been planning to come to you on your break for a week” Magnus shot back firmly. The two of them sighed knowing that there was no point in arguing over something so trivial.

“I’m glad you’re okay Magnus, when I saw you get pulled out of the car I-

“Wait, wait… you saw me getting pulled out of the car?” Magnus questioned.

“Yeah, I was called to respond to the scene, I didn’t even know it was you” Alec replied and Magnus’ face fell

“Baby that would have been so hard on you,” Magnus said softly.

“It’s okay, it’s in the past and now that you’re awake I don’t need to think about it anymore.” Alec smiled which also caused a smile to appear on Magnus’ face.

“Do you think I could hug you without causing you too much pain?” Alec asked and Magnus laughed softly.

“I think so darling, come here” Magnus smiled, Alec got up off his seat and gently wrapped his arms around his husband. Despite how warm Magnus still was, it was the best feeling in the world to have him back in his arms, holding on another.

The good mood was ruined when Magnus let out a stuttered gasp, Alec quickly pulled away and looked Magnus over with frantic eyes.

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” Alec asked placing his hands gently on Magnus’ shoulders. Magnus seemed even paler than before and his mouth was gaping like a fish as he stared blankly.

“Magnus say something! Do I need to get Cat?” Alec urged his husband, his panic bubbling more and more in his chest.

“Alec I...I-I can’t feel my legs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know  
> I hate me too :D


	5. Chapter Five

“Max get your shoes on, aunt Izzy will be here soon to take you to school” Alec said as he helped Rafael tie his shoe lace.

“I’m going, I’m going” he groaned stomping over to shoes, plonking himself on the ground with a grumble, clearly not happy to be going back to school.

“Raffie have you seen your papa?” Alec asked as he finished tying Rafael’s shoe

“I think he was in his studio” Rafael replied before walking off to go and get his school bag ready.

Alec made sure the boys where ready for his sister to pick them up and take them to school before heading towards Magnus’ studio, it had been about two months since Magnus had been discharged from the hospital and it had been an extremely hard two months for everyone. Magnus was wheelchair bound for the time being, Catarina said that there was a high chance that he would be able to walk again as the damage done to his spine wasn’t extremely extensive.

“Magnus? You in-” Alec cut himself off when he spotted Magnus in his studio, sadness pinched at Alec’s heart as he took in his husband. Magnus was reaching for his pencils on the shelf, a shelf that was _just_ out of his reach. 

“Here let me-

“Alec I can do it myself” Magnus snapped before Alec could even take a step towards him. Alec’s mouth shut and he stopped in his tracks, observing Magnus as he tried as hard as he could to reach the pencils, his fingers just brushing the mason jar they where in.

Just as Magnus almost had a grip on the jar, it slipped past his hand and landed on the ground with a loud bang as the glass shattered into thousands of pieces.

“Fuck” Magnus muttered quietly before he placed his face into his hands that rest on his knees.

“Magnus it’s okay, I’ll clean this up and then I’ll get you a new jar after…” Alec trailed off when he noticed Magnus’ body was shaking with silent sobs. 

“Hey, why are you crying baby?” Alec asked gently as he kneeled down in front of Magnus, putting his hands on his husband’s shoulders.

“I-I… I can’t” Magnus choked into his hands.

“Can’t what love? Talk to me” Alec continued, his heart aching more and more with every sob that left Magnus.

“I can’t do anything! I’ve just been sitting around for three months whilst everyone else does everything for me!” Magnus snapped

“Magnus you can’t help it, you’re hurt and you’re still recovering-

“Recovering!? Catarina has seen no improvement whatsoever! Knowing my luck I won’t ever walk again so stop fucking sugar coating it!” Magnus all but screamed making Alec reel back, falling on his arse due to the tone his husband used. Never in their relationship had Magnus ever used such a tone towards Alec, sure they had argued and raised their voices but Magnus had never screamed at him.

“I... Magnus, I don’t…” Alec stuttered, lost for words. Magnus seemed to realize what he had done and his eyes widened.

“God Alec… I’m so sorry, you don’t deserve my frustration” Magnus mumbled placing his head back into his hands. Alec frowned and got up, walking around to the back of Magnus’ wheelchair and began wheeling him over to the small couch that Magnus had in his studio.

“Alexander, what are you doing?” Magnus sniffled as Alec walked back around to the front of him.

“Arms around my neck” Alec said as he slipped his arms under Magnus. Doing as he was told, Magnus let Alec pick him up and sit them both down on the couch together, Magnus resting against Alec’s chest. The two sat there in silence for a while, Alec gently running his hand through Magnus’ hair and Magnus just sitting there listening to Alec’s breathing.

“I’m sorry…” Magnus said quietly

“Don’t apologize, I understand, you’re frustrated with your situation and I don’t blame you” Alec hushed Magnus placing a kiss to his forehead

“But that gives me no excuse to shout at you the way I did” Magnus replied 

“You’re right, that tone wasn’t something I appreciated but you realized your mistake and I forgive you. Right now we just have to focus on you getting better” Alec said giving Magnus a small smile, which Magnus returned with a wipe of his eyes.

“Do you… do you think that Cat’s right? That I’ll walk again?” Magnus said solemnly looking down towards his currently useless legs

“You, Magnus Lightwood-Bane, are one of the most stubborn men I know and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that you’ll walk again” Alec said firmly making Magnus give a watery smile and a sniffle.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you Alexander” Magnus said softly before gently kissing at Alec’s cheek.

“The feeling is mutual love, now come on, we have an appointment to get to” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec sighed as he flicked through his phone for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour, as much as he was glad Magnus was getting physiotherapy to help him regain his ability to walk, having to sit in the waiting room for an hour was painfully boring and nerve wracking.

Alec never knew what the outcome of each session would be, most of the time Magnus would come out with the nurse looking sad and disappointed as there was little to no improvement and it hurt Alec’s heart every single time to see his husband look so defeated.

“Alec Lightwood-Bane?” Alec’s attention was pulled away from his phone by the sound of Magnus’ nurse calling his name.

“Is he ready to go?” Alec questioned with a slight frown, normally Magnus would be wheeled back to the waiting room with the nurse at the end of the session

“Almost, I just need you to come into the room with me for a little bit there have been some developments we need to talk about” She explained as the pair walked the short way from the waiting room to the physiotherapy room.

Alec’s chest became slightly heavy with worry as they approached the door, was Magnus’ condition getting worse? Was he going to be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life? The thought of Magnus never being able to walk again made Alec’s heart stop, his husband had done nothing but good in his life, he didn’t deserve this.

The nurse opened the door and allowed Alec to walk in with her, Magnus was being held up between two bars by a nurse like normal. Magnus looked towards the door and gave a small smile when he spotted Alec walking in with the nurse.

“Hi darling” Magnus said sounding slightly out of breath, these sessions were always a toll on his healing body even if he still couldn’t walk.

“Hey Mags, the nurse said something has changed?” Alec questioned approaching the bars where Magnus ‘stood’

“Yes actually, Mr Lightwood-Bane’s condition has improved a lot since the last time we saw him!” The nurse holding Magnus up explained making all traces of anxiety vanish from Alec’s chest

“Really? That’s fantastic!” Alec exclaimed as a wide smile spread across his face

“In fact…” The nurse trailed off before slowly letting go of Magnus, Alec’s heart stuttered in panic as he watched the nurse let go of his husband, what was she thinking?! Magnus couldn’t stand on his own why was she letting go?! But then realization dawned on him as he watched the scene unfold.

“Mag...Magnus you’re…” Alec stuttered looking at his husband, sure he was holding onto the bars slightly for support, but Magnus was standing!

“I know” Magnus choked a little, a watery laugh escaping his mouth as he looked between his beaming husband and his legs.

“Magnus says that he has regained a little bit of feeling in his legs, so we decided to push him a bit further with today’s session” The nurse smiled 

“Does this mean he’ll be able to walk again?” Alec questioned, not being able to wipe the smile off his face

“At some point I believe he’ll regain complete mobility in his legs, for now I would like you two to practice some exercises at home so Magnus can regain more feeling and strength in his legs, hopefully we’ll have him walking again within the next 3 sessions!” The nurse explained as she helped Magnus down from his standing position and back into the chair. Alec stepped forward and grabbed the wheelchair once the nurse was done.

“Make sure to take it easy today Magnus, you’ve done a lot of progress but your body is still healing” The nurse said firmly

“Of course” Magnus replied, from the way he was postured in his chair, Alec could tell Magnus was exhausted.

“I’ll see you next session, take care!” The nurse smiled as Alec wheeled Magnus out of the room and out to the car park. Once the two where in the car, they both turned to each other with wide smiles on their faces, Magnus had tears in his eyes as he looked at his husband.

“Can you believe it? I might walk again” Magnus said in a quiet voice, Alec smiled and grabbed Magnus’ hands, kissing the back of them.

“I always knew you would, you’ve come so far” Alec replied gently, Magnus let out a watery laugh and sniffled.

“What do you say we go home and I run you a bath, you need to relax after all the work you’ve done” Alec said as he started up the car

“Pft work, the nurse was doing all the work I was just holding onto the bars” Magnus smirked and rolled his eyes.

“It may not seem like work to you, but it is and you deserve to be pampered for it” Alec leant over and gently put a kiss to Magnus’ temple

“Alright, alright… as long as you join me in the bath”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope this is okay, its a little short but I honestly am struggling so bad with writers block atm  
> And the lack of new malec content always makes things harder :'(

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this please follow my tumblr!  
> https://gummi-stories.tumblr.com/
> 
> Kudos and comments make my day <3


End file.
